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Small Changes for Better Results

One of the most common goals for many people stepping into a gym, especially in women, is losing weight. You hear it time and time again about how so and so are trying to get to “X” weight before an upcoming vacation, wedding, or various other events. Women also seem to always have a certain look that they are after, a celebrity that they feel has that perfect body.

All this is well and good, as there is no reason to not have a “look” that you’re trying to attain or a goal that you’re looking to achieve before a certain date or event. The problem comes with the actual goal (i.e. a certain weight) and how women go about reaching their goals or desired look. Here are a few ideas on how a few small changes can lead to big changes in your physique.

Perform Resistance Training

Go back to that look that you are trying to achieve. I can almost guarantee you that the physique you have in your mind was achieved through some type of resistance training because no one wakes up, looks at a marathon running and says to themselves ‘that’s what I wanna look like’. One of the biggest myths most women believe is that resistance training will make you big and bulky, which couldn’t be any further from the truth. I can definitively say, after working with women in both a gym setting and a university setting, that women who perform resistance training do not get all big and bulky. I could bore you with science, but let’s just say women don’t naturally have the needed hormones running through their systems to get big and bulky.

Stop the Endless Cardio

I’ve touched on this before but it’s something that’s worth mentioning again. Stop with the endless elliptical and treadmill sessions. You’ve probably been doing them for years with so-so results. Why would you keep doing the same thing, over and over again, and then expect different results? For the next 3-4 weeks try doing some interval training. I’m willing to bet you’ll see some better results and spend half the time when compared to what your currently doing. For some ideas take a look at THIS.

Eat More Protein

Most women eat like rabbits, staying away from any type of protein. Just like resistance training, most women feel that consuming protein will do nothing but make you big and bulky. If you suggest that women combine eating protein with the resistance training and most will think that they are well on their way to look like a middle linebacker in the NFL. Again, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Anyone that is active, whether a male or a female, should be consuming at minimum 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. You won’t get fat and you won’t looking like you just finished a cycle of steroids, you’ll actually look better with your new and improved body composition.

Get Off the Scale

This is something that women seem to stress on when in reality there is no reason to obsess on what the scale says every morning. For starters, depending on what you ate the day prior and/or the amount of fluids you may have consumed, your weight can fluctuate from day to day leaving you nothing but frustrated. What you should be doing is focusing on other things, things that are more important like how your clothes are fitting and how you feel. Simply put, stop chasing a number and start chasing that look, whether that means you weigh 140lbs, 120lbs, or 100lbs. the bulimic 95lb look isn’t all that hot anyway. The scale is a tool to measure your success, not the end all be all.

Do yourself a favor and try to implement some of these ideas so that you can reach your goals before you know it. At UNH, our girls resistance train 2-3 times a week, don’t perform any long cardio sessions, actually consume a healthy diet, and are healthy, lean women. I’m willing to bet you’ll see the same types of results.